The Baal Shem Tov taught: Whatever a Jew sees or hears is there to teach him a lesson in spiritual development.
Musings on life, spirituality and current world events.

Monday, December 21, 2015

My phone's not so smart... or is it?

I’ve been cut off from the world.

They tell me it’s temporary, but the last few days have felt
like an eternity. I find it difficult to communicate. I have lost contact with
hundreds of people.

I am isolated.

No news.

Can’t monitor your special moments in real-time. Even
chatting with friends has become a burden.

My cell-phone is in for repairs.

Yes, they have given me a loan phone. My cynical side might call it a dumb-phone
(as in the antithesis of smartphone). But, Its eight-day battery-life has earned
it enough of my respect for me to fondly nickname it my “Chanukah phone”.

I had a phone like this once. In 1997.

To be fair, this phone can do more than just call and SMS. It
has a calculator, a flashlight and even a selection of two-dimensional games. I’m
sticking with calls for now, because typing messages on that
push-the-button-three-times-to-type-a-letter system is agonizing.

One plus is
that this phone has no auto-text. I haven’t messaged anyone “Good Shabby” or signed
off as “rabbit”. But, I have no Whatsapp, no social media and I have to wait
until I get home to read my emails.

Truthfully, it’s a good time of year to have this inconvenience.
December is summer vacation time, and being technologically incapacitated should
be quite restful.

On the first day one of this loan-phone adventure, I
habitually checked that device every five minutes to make sure it was still
operational. A phone as quiet as that thing was had to be comatose, if at all alive.

As the day advanced, I began to enjoy the absence of beeps
and jingles. I spoke to my children with no electronic interference. I made it through
a full Shul service without checking for messages and spoke to people while
making eye-contact (I think it made them uncomfortable). I felt no pressure to
avoid opening any app that might betray my having seen a message without responding
immediately. I may not have made it to Cape Town, but I was in full holiday
mode.

By day two, dim memories of life pre-technology started to surface. Now foreign experiences, like summer evening walks, Monopoly games and researching information in books floated back. Life started to feel a little slower, a little quieter.

I could get used to this!

My imagination tempted me with the promise of family fun, longer study sessions and
spare time in the diary. Maybe I could simply not collect my smartphone when
the service centre called. If I kept this magically non-invasive phone, surely they
could sell my S6 Edge to defray costs.

But, then I realized the phone may have gone quiet, but that
didn’t mean I had fewer interactions to manage. People had sent just as many queries, I just hadn't received them. Who knows? There are probably more than a few disgruntled people who think I am ignoring them. My “kosher” phone, as the frum
world call it, is a great escape, but it isn't practical for 21st
Century rabbinics.

Now, you can always find guidance and wisdom in the weekly Torah reading. My phone escapade coincided with the portion about Joseph and his brothers. Joseph was a smartphone person, his siblings more the "kosher phone" type.

Joseph’s siblings advocated the simple life. As shepherds, they steered clear of the distractions of society. Joseph, to their dismay, dived right
into the thick of the modern world. His brothers were certain nobody could
retain their spiritual integrity while living in the hub of civilization.

Joseph
proved them wrong. Not only did he successfully enter the modern world, he rose
to prominence and raised a spiritually-sound family to boot.

Years earlier, Joseph had predicted that his brothers would
eventually come around to his approach. They had balked at the prospect. Today, Judaism is modeled after Joseph's approach; a
spiritual path that engages- and shapes- the world.

That non-invasive simple-phone is very attractive, but my
smartphone allows me to reach and touch the world. And to hopefully make a positive impact.

That said, my current techno go-slow is a good reminder that
all-consuming connectivity is unhealthy. You can only influence the world if
you are in the driver’s seat. Joseph shaped the world from a position of power. You only make a difference when you control the technology, not when you are controlled by it. And to stay in control, you need to be able to completely disengage regularly and reconnect with ancient, bedrock values.

I’m looking forward to getting my slick, connected
phone back, so I can easily interact with the world out there. But, if I don’t get back to you immediately or if I’m
not the fastest to like or retweet your content, that’s because my time
with my “Chanukah” phone has reminded me that switching off during family,
social, study or spiritual time is more valuable than being virtually present
all day.